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China state media blames Syria rebels for Xinjiang violence
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese state media on Monday blamed Syrian opposition
forces in unusually specific finger pointing for training Muslim extremists
responsible for the deadliest unrest in four years in China's far-western
region of Xinjiang.
China has traditionally blamed violence in Xinjiang, home to Muslim Uighurs,
on Islamic separatists who want to establish an independent state of "East
Turkestan".
This appears to mark the first time Beijing has blamed a group in Syria and
fits a common narrative of the government portraying Xinjiang's violence as
coming from abroad, such as Pakistan, and not due to homegrown anger.
Chinese President Xi Jinping presided over a forum in Beijing last Saturday
on maintaining stability in Xinjiang. Paramilitary police have flooded the
streets of the regional capital Urumqi after 35 people were killed in two
attacks last week, which China has blamed on a gang engaged in "religious
extremist activities".
Many Uighurs in Xinjiang resent what they call Chinese government
restrictions on their culture, language and religion.
The Global Times, a tabloid owned by the Communist Party mouthpiece, the
People's Daily, said that some members of the East Turkestan faction had
moved from Turkey into Syria.
"This Global Times reporter has recently exclusively learned from the
Chinese anti-terrorism authorities that since 2012, some members of the '
East Turkestan' faction have entered Syria from Turkey, participated in
extremist, religious and terrorist organizations within the Syrian
opposition forces and fought against the Syrian army," the newspaper said.
"At the same time, these elements from 'East Turkestan' have identified
candidates to sneak into Chinese territory to plan and execute terrorist
attacks."
Authorities had arrested a 23-year-old "terrorist", known in Chinese as
Maimaiti Aili, belonging to the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), the
report said, adding that he had taken part in the Syrian war.
Dilxat Raxit, the Sweden-based spokesman for the exiled World Uyghur
Congress, called the report unrealistic.
."
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Residents walk past as armed paramilitary policemen patrol along a street in
Kashgar, Xinjiang Uighu …
"Uighurs already find it very difficult to get passports, how can they run
off to Syria?" Raxit told Reuters by telephone.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying declined to directly
answer questions on whether Syrian rebels had joined forces with the East
Turkestan movement.
Hua only said at a regular briefing that China has "also noted that in
recent years East Turkestan terrorist forces and international terrorist
organizations have been uniting, not only threatening China's national
security but also the peace and stability of relevant countries and regions."
Officials in Xinjiang and China's ministry of public security were not
immediately available for comment.
Pan Zhiping, a retired expert on Central Asia at Xinjiang's Academy of
Social Science, said it was possible that the attackers in Xinjiang were
involved in the Syrian war, citing members of the East Turkestan movement
who had taken part in the Chechnya war, and were extradited by Russia to go
on trial in China.
"They are definitely more dangerous, these people, we can call them
desperados. They are highly trained and not ordinary citizens," Pan said.
The report by the Global Times follows attempts by China to take a more
proactive role in solving the crisis in Syria. China, a permanent member of
the U.N. Security Council, has been keen to show it is not taking sides and
has urged the Syrian government to talk to the opposition.
Police in Xinjiang have detained 19 people for spreading online rumors that
triggered Wednesday's attack in northern Shanshan county, state media said
on Monday.
The increased security comes four days before the fourth anniversary of the
July 2009 riots in Xinjiang that pitted Uighurs against ethnic Chinese,
resulting in nearly 200 people being killed.
Two days after the deadly attack, more than 100 people riding motorbikes and
wielding knives attacked a police station in Xinjiang, state media reported.
(Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee, Michael Martina and Li Hui; Editing by Nick
Macfie) |
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